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Friday, November 10, 2006

A Southern Man Don't Need Him Around, Anyhow

Rangel was quoted in a Thursday article in The New York Times, saying: "Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?":

Rangel sends a spokesman to backtrack:

Elbert Garcia, Rangel's press secretary in New York, said Rangel had received calls Thursday about the Mississippi quote.

Garcia e-mailed The Associated Press a response from Rangel: "I certainly don't mean to offend anyone, I just love New York so much that I can't understand why everyone wouldn't want to live here."

Maybe people don't want to live in New York because it's infested with high taxes and other depredations of the far left.

The article has some details on Mississippi's share of the federal pie:

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation and gets back more from the federal government than it pays for many programs. For example, Mississippi has one of the highest federal matching rates for Medicaid, getting back nearly $3 in federal money for every $1 of state money in the program that helps pay for health care for the needy, aged, blind and disabled, and for low-income families with children.

Mississippi also has received billions of dollars in federal relief since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, destroying tens of thousands of homes and businesses and causing damage to more than 150 miles inland.

I have a question. I know that there is a positive correlation between economic freedom and economic prosperity. Aside from eliminating its state income tax, is there any legal reform that could be implemented to energize Mississippi's economy?

The Tax Foundation's table of state income taxes is worth looking at. Compare how the two states tax various income brackets. Note how New York soaks the middle class on up.

Link via Hot Air and Right Wing Nation; hat tip to commenter Ken Summers for the second link. Hot Air commenters identify some of the people in the "Halp us" image, and list other Mississippi celebrities. Wikipedia has a list of famous Mississippians, which includes Jim Henson, James Earl Jones, Tennessee Williams, Elvis Presley, B. B. King, and 1960s civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

“From the Coast to the Delta to the Pinebelt to the Hills and across Mississippi, there is beauty in every city, charity in every heart, love in every church, and majesty in every countryside. When I travel this state I see it in the resolute handshakes, the hospitable smiles, and the sincere prayers of our neighbors: we love Mississippi and we are proud and happy to live here,” Pickering said. Pickering concluded, “Last year, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Coast. We have been working hard not only to rebuild our own homes and communities, but also to repair and protect the network of refineries, pipelines, and transmission grids that supply energy, gas, and oil to the rest of the country, including New York. If Mr. Rangel believes those efforts required more than our fair share of federal money, he is welcome to send that energy back to our state and find an alternative supply...

Update: On that note, let me post the lyrics to an old song from the '70s, Bob Arnold's "Freeze a Yankee." (The Gov. Briscoe in the song is then-Texas governor Dolph Briscoe.)

Freeze a Yankee, drive seventy-five and freeze 'em aliveFreeze a Yankee, let your thermostat rise and give 'em a surpriseGovernor Briscoe promised us that if any [darn] Yankee [raised] a fussWe’d turn off the gas, cut off the oil and let 'em all freeze and boil

Now President Carter was a good ol’ boy, a Southerner through and throughBut when he asked all Americans to sacrifice, he really meant you-know-whoHe wants all our oil and our nuclear fuelsNow what does he take us for, silly fools?The president wants us to pass our gas, now ain’t that a kick in the . . .

Freeze a Yankee, drive seventy-five and freeze 'em aliveFreeze a Yankee, let your thermostat rise and give 'em a surpriseGovernor Briscoe promised us that if any [darn] Yankee [raised] a fussWe’d turn off the gas, cut off the oil and let 'em all freeze and boil

They don’t want an oil rig around their seashore, Lord its a terrible sightAnd don’t you try to drill in their dirty, old water, if you do you’re in for a fightSenator Kennedy told me himself That he wouldn’t let us drill on the Continental ShelfSo when they try to get Texans to drill another well, we can tell 'em all to go to . . .Hyannis Port

Freeze a Yankee, drive seventy-five and freeze 'em aliveFreeze a Yankee, let your thermostat rise and give 'em a surpriseGovernor Briscoe promised us that if any [darn] Yankee [raised] a fussWe’d turn off the gas, cut off the oil and let 'em all freeze and boil

Cram them Yankees into little bitty cars while we drive around in limousinesThere ain’t nothin’ in the world any more fun then pumpin’ gas in them big mo-chinesUs Texans love our Cadillacs, big Continentals and PontiacsWe’re gonna keep all the oil that we can make, and let them Yankees shiver and shake

Freeze a Yankee, drive seventy-five and freeze 'em aliveFreeze a Yankee, let your thermostat rise and give 'em a surpriseGovernor Briscoe promised us that if any [darn] Yankee [raised] a fussWe’d turn off the gas, cut off the oil and let 'em all freeze and boil

Them Yankees say they need our oil and they gotta have gasolineBut don’t you put no refineries way up north, they wanna keep their air real cleanThey only got enough lignite to last till midnightNot enough fuel to keep their beer real coolBut we’ll send you lots of oil, now don’t you fearIf you promise not to move down here!

Freeze a Yankee, drive seventy-five and freeze 'em aliveFreeze a Yankee, let your thermostat rise and give 'em a surpriseGovernor Briscoe promised us that if any [darn] Yankee [raised] a fussWe’d turn off the gas, cut off the oil and let 'em all freeze and boil